Derek Bryce-Smith (1926–2011) was a chemist and professor of Organic Chemistry at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

from 1956 until his retirement in 1991. His work included

organometallic chemistry Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and so ...

, radical chemistry,

photochemistry Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible light (400–7 ...

environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

nutritional science Nutritional science (also nutrition science, sometimes short ''nutrition'', dated trophology) is the science that studies the physiological process of nutrition (primarily human nutrition), interpreting the nutrients and other substances in food ...

and

behavioural science Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...

. He was among the first to describe the dangers of

tetraethyl lead Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that all ...

, which was used for several decades as an

anti-knock additive An antiknock agent is a gasoline additive used to reduce engine knocking and increase the fuel's octane rating by raising the temperature and pressure at which auto-ignition occurs. The mixture known as gasoline or petrol, when used in high compres ...

in petrol. Initially, his concerns were dismissed both by his fellow academics and by industrial interests. However, by the time of his death, only six countries had not outlawed leaded petrol, and the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

gave him a silver medal in 1984 for his work in this area. He subsequently became convinced that the use of NPK

fertilisers A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

in agriculture resulted in a lack of the essential

trace element __NOTOC__ A trace element, also called minor element, is a chemical element whose concentration (or other measure of amount) is very low (a "trace amount"). They are classified into two groups: essential and non-essential. Essential trace elements ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

in modern (particularly vegetarian) diets; his pioneering views were again widely dismissed, becoming mainstream years later. An account of both campaigns is given in a book he co-authored with

Liz Hodgkinson Liz Hodgkinson (born 1945) is an author and journalist who has written more than 50 books. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages. She has also written articles for most of the major British national newspapers in London, and fo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryce-Smith, Derek 1926 births 2011 deaths Academics of the University of Reading English chemists